As the founder of the Center for Soft Power at INDICA, I am disappointed that Allu Arjun may have missed out at being nominated for the Best Actor at the Oscars and thereby we a lost opportunity to promote our culture and soft power.
After Naatu Naatu/RRR, if there was another Indian effort that deserved an Oscar, it was certainly Allu Arjun’s acting in Pushpa 2.
Its December release has eliminated any realistic chance at a Best Actor nomination. While the film met the technical requirement of running for seven consecutive days in a Los Angeles County, there is literally no time for a proper campaign even if an online entry is now made. ( I reached out to my friend Naveen and am yet to hear back)
The time table for voting closes on January 14th, nominations are announced January 19th, and the ceremony is on March 2nd.
Of the 10000 odd members in the Academy, campaigning for Best Actor, one has to reach out to 1250 members in the acting category. This includes organizing screenings, distributing digital screeners, hiring PR agents, and placing ads. The cost of campaigning typically ranges from $3-10 million, for a non-English film like this, that too in a main category one can estimate it to be around $5 million. Given the stupendous success of this film, this amount is certainly not a big deal for the filmmakers.
Apart from RRR and Naatu Naatu, there are other examples of non English films winning or being nominated for Oscars. Recently Korean film”Parasite” won the Best Picture. A Italian actor Marcelo Mastroianni received three Best Actor nominations for Italian films, and another Italian actor Roberto Benigni won the Best Actor for “Life is Beautiful.” ( Remember him climbing the chair he was sitting on when his name was announced !!)
If only the film was released as per the original schedule on August 15 there would have been enough time for the film makers and we may have seen another success from the Telugu industry.
One of the biggest “If only..” in recent times.
We certainly missed an opportunity to screen or even stage the spectacular Jatara dance on the Oscar stage. A lost opportunity for promoting Indian culture. ( Enjoy once again https://youtu.be/Qye2HPaiB98?si=byPc35M_PoKs3yvG )
My advice to other Pan-Indian film makers, please avoid December releases !
Hari’s Curries
A Buffet of Reflections